Return From the Antartica
by comtal10
Summary: Alternative shippy end for "Fight the Future". Only focused on MSR.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, this is my first fanfic ever. I don't know why but lately I can't get Mulder and Scully out of my head. So I decided to give it a try:)**

**I'm not an english speaker so forgive me if there are any mistakes.**

**Let me know what you think!**

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><p><strong>Return from the Antartica<strong>

**Chapter 1**

They were resting on the snow. Mulder couldn't believe what he was seeing. He put an arm arount his partner "Scully, you gotta see this". She could barely open her eyes. He looked away again focusing on the spaceship. When it was out of sight he turned to Scully. A feeling of happiness filling his whole body.

Mulder was exhausted. He had just gone through hell knows what to reach her. But it had been worth it. He slowly relaxed and closing his eyes rested his cheek on the cold snow.

Scully saw his partner collapsing. Feeling sorry for him she forced herself to get up. Sitting down and reaching for him, she took him on her lap. Embracing him. He had just saved her life. He hadn't given up on her, even when she had herself. Scully rested her chin on his head. Now it was her turn to care for him, just as he had done before. She placed a gente kiss on his wet hair. It was freezing, but they kept each other warm. They both lost consciousness.

Then Scully heard a man's voice "They're alive. Let's take them in". Next thing they were both in a hellycopter being checked by two paramedics. "Can you say your name?" a voice asked her.

She looked confused. Suddently she remembered "Mulder?"

"He's ok, my partner is taking care of him" answered the young man. Scully looked around and she was relieved to see her partner sitting next to her. "Hey" was all he could say. He looked weak. They shared a relieved look before hearing a familiar voice.

"You guys are really in trouble. What the hell were youn thinking?" Skinner sat in front of them. "If it wasn't because of your freaky friends you'd be both death out there". Neither of them said a word. They looked out of place, shaking under their respective blankets. Skinner decided to give them a break "You two get some rest, but this is not over. I want you tomorrow in my office". He stood up and went to the front seat, next to the pilot.

Mulder turned his head to look at his partner. Scully noticed it and turned hers to him. Their looks locked for a moment. Then a tiny smile formed on Scullys lips. Mulder smiled back. And both smiles grew wider. Scully moved towards him, not breaking eye contact, now sitting arm with arm, leg with leg. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he put his arm and part of his own blanket around her, bringing her closer to him. She leaned closer, searching his waist with her arm. Mulder put his free arm around hers, and they melted in each others embrace.

Scully could feel him breathing on her hair. It felt good.

Too good.

She realized she could never be anywhere else. She needed him, just as he did. She held him tighter and unconsciously pressed his belly with her hand. Mulder took a deep breath, noticing it. She did had a huge effect on him. He hugged her tighter, pushig her closer, if possible. Mulder couldn't believe he had almost lost her. Having her between his arms felt good.

Too good.

Skinner turned around to see how were the two of them going. When he saw them sharing that intimate moment, he was shocked. Although he didn't know why he was. He knew well how they cared for each other. And sometimes even he had been suspicious about them being beyond that. But this was different. He then knew. They could never be taken appart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Scully's apartment

After being checked again at the hospital Skinner took them home. She had taken a hot bath, had drank some tea and now was in bed covered with all the blankets she had. But nothing helped. She was still freezing. She missed him despite it had been only 2 hours since they had last seen each other. She didn't know why, but she missed him. She needed him.

Mulder's apartment

Mulder was cold. He didn't know what else to do to get warm. He'd tried everything. Even he'd gotten into bed, when he never did, just to try to get warmer. He was lying there when he heard a soft knock on the door. He stayed still for a moment. _Who could it be?_ It was late.

Mulder headed to the door as he reassured his blanket around his body. He opened the door just to find Scully standing there, shaking. She looked so small. Her eyes shy. "Scully…what is it?"

She could feel the concern on his voice and immediatly felt bad. She made herself smaller, trying to stop the chills. "I can't…I can't get warm…", she managed to say. Her voice was almost a whisper. She looked ashamed. Mulder smiled and put an arm around her. Sharing his blanket and putting it around her shoulder. _Again_.

Mulder drove his partner through the bedroom. When she saw all the blankets on the bed she realized. "Mulder sorry, did I wake you?" she wished she hadn't.

"You should know by now that I never sleep, Scully" His tone was joking and she gave him_ a look_. God, he loved _that look_. _Did she made it on purpose?_ He didn't believe she was aware the effect _that look_ had on him. He took the blankets away so she could get into bed. He went after and leaned close to her, her back to him, putting the blankets on both of them. He made sure she was totally covered and put an arm around her. Mulder felt her relaxing and he was shocked to feel her going backwards, closing the small distance left between them. Their hips touching. He squeezed her a bit more. His mouth running through her hair. He could feel her so familiar scent. She smelt so good. Suddently, he wasn't cold anymore. Neither she was.

"Thank you" was all she said.

"Next time you could try to get lost in a warmer place". He didn't see it but he could feel her smile. _Why this man could always make her smile in the worst moments?_ Only him was able to do that. And she was grateful for it.

"I'll try" She squeezed his hand. It was cold. "Mulder, you're frozen". Scully took a bit of the blanket making space for him to put his arm under. Mulder doubted for a second at her invitation but did it, being more aware of their bodies touching. She grabed his arm under hers and squeezed his hand, once more.

They stayed quiet like that for some minutes before Scully broke the silence. "Mulder, you don't have any sleeping bags around here, do you?"

Mulder froze, but not because he was cold. _Did she had just said what he thought?_ He remembered their conversation in the forest, where he had told her his best way to warm up bodies. Playful Scully. He loved it. "Mmm…no, but I'm gonna buy one for good". She chuckled at his answer.

They fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A noise woke her up. Scully could feel Mulder's body still around her. They hadn't moved an inch. Well maybe an inch…closer. _She could easily wake up every day like this._ She smiled to herself at the thought. Then she saw the cell phone on the night table. She picked it up and answered with a sleepy voice "Scully".

The voice on the other side hesitated "Agent Scully?"

"Sir?" She straightened up.

"I thought I was calling Agent Mulder" Skinner's voice was serious now. He ovbiously didn't thought it, he _knew_ it.

Scully realized. She had picked up Mulder's phone. _Shit_. Mulder seemed to return to consciousness, and tightened his embrace on her. "Scully?"

"Is that Agent Mulder?"

"Er…yes, sir." She looked at the alarm clock. 9 a.m. _Damn_. They had agreed to meet him in his office at 8.30 a.m. _They had slept over!_ She abruptly got up, putting Mulder's arm away. He looked confused and made an attempt to talk before she gave him a warning look.

Skinner didn't hesitated this time and with an accusatory voice asked "Why are you picking up Agent Mulder's phone?"

Scully was lost. This time saying the truth wouldn't help and she was really bad at lying. She had to come up with something. _Fast_. "I…I slept over and I called Mulder to tell him I'd be late to the meeting. But…but he had also slept over so I came to his apartment to pick him up. And…and he was having a shower, that's why I picked it up" No way he'd gonna buy this.

"I see, and why didn't you call _me_?"

Yeah, that was a damn good question. "I…I just didn't thought about calling you. Sorry ,sir"

"I want you two here in 20 minutes" he hang up.

"You'd better get dressed. He's gonna kill us, Mulder" Scully looked at her partner. He was still tangled between the blankets, being lazy. _How couldn't he be bothered?_ He stretched himself. He looked so cute. Scully had to stop herself from jumping into bed again.

"C'mon Scully, we haven't done anything wrong… or have we?" He raised an eyebrow.

She blushed. Mulder was aware of the effect his words had on her and smiled. "I remind you that sleeping with your partner goes against the Bureau's policies"

"Since when going against the Bureau's policies has ever stopped us?" Mulder was having fun now. He looked straight to her blue eyes.

She had to fight a smile and rolled her eyes as she headed to the bathroom. Mulder followed her with his gaze. _Yeah, he could get used to this._


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again!And thanks for the reviews:) I really didn't know how to go on with the story. I always have too many versions in my head and it was difficult to choose just one. So this is my hallway scene:))) As you'll notice, I take sentences and details from here and from there. I like mixing scenes and making my own. Any similarities with the hallway scene outtake are _NOT_ a coincidence.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The meeting with Skinner didn't go as bad as Scully had first thought it would be. Mulder, for once, had behaved. He then had gone home to have some rest. Scully hadn't. She still had a meeting regarding her future in Utah.

Mulder's Apartment

Mulder was lying on his sofa, thinking of Scully and her meeting. One of his favorite movies was on TV but he wasn't paying any attention to it. He was sad. A knot in his stomach. He wanted to cry. The X-Files had been re-opened, and it was great news. But he wasn't happy. He could only think of Scully…and her leaving. Mulder didn't want to go back to the X-Files without her. He couldn't. Not anymore. But he knew he had to let her go. She wasn't safe at his side. A tear ran down his cheek.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He opened the door, and there was Scully. Her face still bruised from the cold snow. She looked beautiful, though. She always did.

"Hey" her voice was soft.

He raised both eyebrows and failed to smile. "So…when…when are you leaving?" His heart almost broke as his thoughts came back to his head and he had to stop his tears from coming again.

Scully could see the fear in his eyes. "I'm not". Mulder was confused. He tried to speak but the words didn't find their way out. His eyes made the question. "Mulder, I'm staying".

"Wh…what? No."

Now her eyes were questioning. Scully wasn't expecting that reaction from him. "Mulder…"

"Scully, no" He was sharp. "You go, be a doctor while you still can"

"I'll be a doctor, but not now. My place is still here with you".

"No. I'm not gonna watch you die because a personal quest of mine" his eyes bright from the held tears.

"It is personal to me too, Mulder. We both have lost so much. I want to make sense of all of this. I _need_ to stay."

Mulder kept saying no with his head. Their eyes met. Scully's heart squirmed. He looked broken. "Scully…I just…don't want you to regret anything"

She could feel the hurt in his words. "I don't. I won't" Moving closer to him, she cupped his face with both hands and looked him in the eyes. "Look, if I could go back time, I'd do it all over again" Mulder was surprised at her statement. "C'mon Mulder, you wouldn't expect me leaving after what you told me in your hallway, would you?" She raised an eyebrow "You sometimes really know how to captivate woman" She smiled jokingly hoping to ease the moment.

He was thoughtful for a moment. Then he looked back at her. "Do I?" They both chuckled.

He leaned his forehead onto hers as she caressed his hair. Mulder put his hands on her hips, under her jacket. She shivered at the feeling of his touch. Both tried to speak, but no words came out. Their noses brushed. She could feel his warm breath. Her heartbeat speeded. Scully moved her head to brush his nose with hers. His hands tightened around her hips and pushed her closer. He brushed his nose back with eyes closed. He really took her breath away. She closed her eyes as she brushed his nose once more, leaning her face closer to his. His knees weakened. Their lips inches apart, almost touching. She took a step closer. He felt his blood burning under his skin. She parted her lips and moved her chin up. Their lips met with a soft, tender kiss.

Mulder was stuck. He wanted to kiss her back, but his body wasn't reacting. Scully parted her lips again and searched for his lower lip. This seemed to break the spell on him and this time he went for it.

They broke the kiss searching for air. Her hands moved down to his chest. When their eyes met, they both had a knowing smile on their faces. Scully bit her lower lip. Her eyes shining as he had never seen before. Mulder then realized. _She loved him. She really did._ He removed his right hand from her hip and took a hair lock with his middle finger from her face. He caressed her face while his fingers ran behind her ear. His thumb drawing invisible circles on her cheek. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but couldn't find the right words, nothing seemed good enough. He felt as if his heart would just jump from his chest.

And no words were needed. She could see it through his eyes. _He loved her. _

Mulder closed the distance between them and kissed her again. Softly. Caring. Loving. Their tongues met for the first time and an electric shock went through their bodies. Their kiss hardened with passion.

His right hand went back to her hip. He flexed a bit his legs to take impulse, and gently put her up. Her legs immediatly surrounded his hips. Her arms around his neck. He embraced her under the jacket. One hand on her lower back, and the other going up across her bra and stopping under her opposite shoulder. Never parting their lips.

Mulder turned around and entered his apartment, closing the door behind them with one foot.


End file.
